Monthly Archives: June 2010

I’m real jazzed up about a recent FPF interaction I had and I would like to share it with my lovely neighbors. I was recently in need of a bike trailer, so I posted the request to FPF, and got a number of solid replies. (Thanks to all for that!) One woman, Julie, replied that she had an old bike trailer I could have. Have! When I came to get it she told me that she had had it sitting in her garage for a long time, unsure of what to do with it. Enter FPF. Now she has more garage space, I’ve got a bike trailer, and yesterday I took my compost down to the Intervale and did three loads of laundry SANS CAR!! Thanks to Julie, FPF, and all you grand neighbors.

Other benefits… now Katie has met several more of her nearby neighbors, which helps to weave the fabric of community. Along the same lines, all of her neighbors who read FPF got to share in this exchange… a lovely shot in the arm.

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Glad to see this FPF posting in a South Burlington neighborhood today…

Roni the lost cat is home, relaxed and wondering what all the fuss is about! Thanks to all the neighbors on Simpson, Birch, Barrett , Iby et. al who kept an eye out for her. And thanks, Front Porch Forum, for connecting neighbors with neighbors!

And here’s why it’s a big deal… lost cat postings get neighbors talking and helping each other out. And such connections lay the groundwork for more. For example, in Westford, VT, citizens have been struggling over school budgets, and various facts and points of view are filling up their FPF. Today’s post from one FPF member hit home…

It’s interesting to me that one who claims to dislike Front Porch Forum seems to make use of this very forum to convey their well thought out, lengthy contribution to this budget discussion. They can be sure that their post is read and received with the respect that should be afforded all members.

I love Front Porch Forum. I wish everyone in Westford posted here [about two-thirds of the Town subscribes]. They could contribute thoughts and opinions in their entirety, at a time that is convenient for them, which could never happen at a budget meeting. The sheer number of posts would consume more time than any meeting could allow. You can read them, or not, as you so choose.

Another recent post indicates that the person was reluctant in the past to make their thoughts and opinions public. Their first post to this forum was again, very well thought out and expressed much of what this contributor had on their mind. Awesome, in my opinion.

Just last night, I was so excited to find new towns added to the FPF service area that I emailed the info to my siblings who can now sign up. I am that impressed with the impact that Front Porch Forum has had on my town and myself. I am so much more educated about what is happening around me. This exchange of ideas is the key to change.

According to the just released Neighbors Online report from Pew Internet and American Life, 27% of American adult Internet users (or 20% of adults overall) use “digital tools to talk to their neighbors and keep informed about community issues.”

This is an amazing number and a great starting point.

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Today Front Porch Forum launched in a dozen new communities, bringing our service now to 38 Vermont towns in total. Please join and help spread the word. Send people to FrontPorchForum.com to sign up! Here’s the full list. And below are the new ones…

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Despite no appearance on the agenda, a dead noise ordinance drew a large crowd to the Monday, May 17 Selectboard meeting.

It kicked off with a noisy display by Ron Moorby who, just as chairman Lou Mossey called the meeting to order, turned on a boombox and blasted Jimi Hendrix’s “The Star Spangled Banner” through the flag salute.

Mossey asked Moorby to shut off the music and eventually was asked to leave by police chief Brett Van Noordt.

But Moorby was not alone. The community room was packed, and according to Milton resident Tina FitzGerald, the crowd came because of a May 8 posting to the community Web site Front Porch Forum by Selectboard member Todd Shepard…

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Enter to Win an iPod Nano 8GB By Participating in Internet Access and Affordability Survey!

Do you have Internet access at home? Is your cellphone prepaid or contract? How much do you pay each month for Internet, phone and TV? As a partner in the Champlain Initiative’s Changing Face of Chittenden County project, we are helping promote a brief survey to better understand how you use and pay for information/communications technologies, such as home Internet, cellphone and TV. Concerned that people without affordable access are being left out of the digital revolution, project partners are exploring changes to improve access and affordability. Please complete the survey, and visit the Champlain Initiative’s website to see what others are saying.